What Pew Got Wrong

 The Beer:  Bud Light....hey....it was free.

The Bicycle:  I have an unidentified mountain bike hanging in my garage

The VRWC:

Pew is out today with some new research about how "America Changed" under President Trump.  The data is pretty good, but the conclusions have completely missed the big picture.

Partisan Divide:

The argument is that President Trump caused a partisan divide.  This is only partly true.  Arguably, Democrats have been dividing the country for decades by using "the politics of personal destruction".  The attacks on GWB, then the TEA Party movement, then on President Trump the very day he was elected has been every bit as divisive as any Trump tweet over the last 4 years.  And these attacks come from the democrats, the press, the schools and universities.  These groups created President Donald Trump.  They need to own it.

Cannot Agree on Basic Facts

I argue here that it is not a problem of Donald Trump, but Donald Trump is a manifestation of it.   There are many "facts" that just are not facts.  Human-caused "climate change" is not a "fact".  It is not a "fact" that some are born in the wrong body.  It is not a "fact" that a fetus is "just a clump of cells".  There are many more examples of theory and opinion masquerading as fact.  And many of those upon which we disagree have political implications that are anathema to many Americans.  The press questions none of the government-provided "facts" and perpetuates the "opinion as fact".    Many also see conspiracy where there is none.  Many also cling to a belief that is clearly not true.  This happens on both sides.

The Legitimacy of Democratic Institutions and Traditions

The press, the judiciary and the electoral process have undermined themselves.  The press lost anything resembling objectivity 50 years ago.  The judiciary has allowed government to run roughshod over the Constitution for political expediency and the willingness of government to overlook cases of election fraud has caused many to lose confidence in it.  

A Reckoning Over Racial Inequality

Yes, there is racial inequality.  No, there is not "systemic racism".  If there is, why don't Democrats address it within their own constituents?  It cannot be the Right alone that perpetuates it.  Why don't Democrats address the abysmal record of public schools in the inner city?   I am pretty certain the reader knows the answer.

The article goes on about COVID response and economic impact, but I think it is far too soon to opine.